The security role name referenced by either the security-role-ref or security-identity element needs to map to one of the application's declared roles. An application assembler defines logical security roles by declaring security-role elements. The role-name value is a logical application role name like Administrator, Architect, SalesManager, etc.

The J2EE specifications note that it is important to keep in mind that the security roles in the deployment descriptor are used to define the logical security view of an application. Roles defined in the J2EE deployment descriptors should not be confused with the user groups, users, principals, and other concepts that exist in the target enterprise's operational environment. The deployment descriptor roles are application constructs with application domain-specific names. For example, a banking application might use role names such as BankManager, Teller, or Customer.

In JBoss EAP, a security-role element is only used to map security-role-ref/role-name values to the logical role that the component role references. The user's assigned roles are a dynamic function of the application's security manager. JBoss does not require the definition of security-role elements in order to declare method permissions. However, the specification of security-role elements is still a recommended practice to ensure portability across application servers and for deployment descriptor maintenance.

<!-- A sample ejb-jar.xml fragment -->
<ejb-jar>
    <assembly-descriptor>
        <security-role>
            <description>The single application role</description>
            <role-name>TheApplicationRole</role-name>
        </security-role>
    </assembly-descriptor>
</ejb-jar>

<!-- A sample web.xml fragment -->
<web-app>
  <security-role>
    <description>The single application role</description>
    <role-name>TheApplicationRole</role-name>
  </security-role>
</web-app>